Community gathers toys for Operation Christmas Child

Kelly Champlin/Jasper County Sun Mary Jo Davenport, born to missionary parents, knows first hand the living conditions of Third World countries and takes joy in volunteering to package gifts for children around the world for Operation Christmas Child.

Shoebox-sized gifts for boys and girls throughout the world — mainly to Third World countries — are being gathered for Operation Christmas Child.

Inside the boxes are simple items: Pencils, crayons, paper, small toys and personal hygiene items like a toothbrush and toothpaste, bars of soap and a washcloth. Each box is marked for a boy or a girl, and inside are special items for each. Hair scrunchies, a small purse, beaded bracelets for girls, most handmade. Yo-Yos, Hot Wheels and handmade wooden toys are given to boys.

Each box also carries information about the mission of Operation Christmas Child, which is to “demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ,” according to Samaritan’s Purse. The message is written in the language of the children who receive the boxes.

The boxes began coming in from Hampton, Beaufort and Jasper counties on Monday, and the donation sites, including Ridgeland Baptist Church, will accept gifts until Sunday at 5 p.m. After that, everything is taken to a shipping point in Beaufort and sent to Charlotte.

From there, it’s distributed through Samaritan’s Purse, a Franklin Graham charity, and sent throughout the world.

Samaritan’s Purse operates in more than 130 nations throughout the world, and has been working on their mission since 1993.

The past four years have seen a 100 percent increase in donations in the Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton region, according to Regional Coordinator Barry Malphrus. The project has a goal this year of 5.5 million gift boxes. South Carolina is looking to bring in 740,000 boxes.

“It’s a whopping goal, I admit,” Malphrus said. “They really have made that goal high.”

He’s thrilled with the increases over the last few years, though, because he sees this project as part of his life’s mission.

In 2001, Malphrus got involved with Operation Christmas Child after seeing a video at his church. He became the collection center coordinator for all three counties in 2003, and he looks for increases in donations every year.

He hasn’t been disappointed.

“In the video that we were shown, it explained that not only could we help those who had not even heard of Him before,” Malphrus said, “but that we were helping the poorest children in the world. I figured that I had to do something to help the poorest children in the world, and that’s what God has asked me to do. I can’t refuse to do that.”

Malphrus said his first year of involvement brought less than 50 boxes, but that the next year brought 150.

“We’ve grown every year since then, in this area. When I was helping back then, I realized that there were a lot of things that people could do, if they concentrated on it year round,” he said.

A dentist two years ago left packages filled with toothpaste. A family this year donated school supplies. One of the women in the Ridgeland Baptist Church, who makes aprons and other crafts, has donated both — two years ago it was aprons, this year it was small purses for girls.

Another church member donated handmade hair scrunchies. The men donate wood crafts and items for boys, although there are never enough boxes.

On Monday, Ridgeland Baptist received 612 boxes for distribution from Great Swamp Baptist. Ridgeland Baptist is looking to make up at least 620 boxes from its own membership.

“Our goal for this year, for the three counties, is 15,050 boxes. Last year we sent 14,196. It’s grown over 400 percent over the last 10 years,” Malphrus said.

Malphrus was part of the mission that traveled to the Dominican Republic. He described using a toilet that he would never sit on, and sewage running in open gutters along the streets.

“We ended up having to leave the village when we ran out of boxes,” he said. “It was bad. People were beating on the sides of the truck, because they wanted to receive something as simple as a shoebox full of small presents for kids. It means that much to people. It really means that much. A toothbrush and toothpaste are treasures because we have kids out there that have to share a single toothbrush with 20 other kids in orphanages.”

For more information, www.occlowcountrysc.org is the local website for donation sites. The parent website for Operation Christmas Child is www.Samaritanspurse.org. Donations can be made online, and all distribution and donation locations are also available. Donations are being accepted from 2 p.m. through 5 p.m. until Nov. 18. All donations are being shipped to Charlotte on Monday, Nov. 19.